Palm Bay Seeks 10% Tax Increase For '89-90

PALM BAY — For the coming budget year, city officials envision more workers helping fix more roads, more police and firefighters using them, and of course more taxes paying for it all.

City Manager Richard Diamond's proposed 1989-90 budget, which goes to public hearings Sept. 7 and 21, asks for a 10 percent tax increase to pay for 34 new employees, about 25 new and replacement vehicles, and another fire station.

The proposed tax means the owner of a home with a $50,000 taxable property value, after homestead exemption, would pay $91.27 next year, compared to $83 this year.

That increase, plus rises in other tax and fee revenues from the city's growing population, this year would generate a $23.28 million budget, a $2.2 million increase that equals a 10.5 percent boost from this year, Diamond said.

Most of that increase would go toward staff and equipment improvements in the police and fire departments, according to the proposal.

While the $4.3 million public works budget wouldn't represent much of a change, Diamond said he would spend $1.36 million to repair 17.8 miles of minor city roads. He hopes to collect $2.4 million next year from a special city road-improvement tax.

The balance of the budget, he said, would be spent on equipment and 12 additional engineering and road crew positions. The extra help would be used to meet a heavy demand for road inspections as General Development Corp. attempts to repair and turn over to the city 500 miles of company roads within five years.

The police department's budget, meanwhile, would increase 14.4 percent, from $4.94 million this year to $5.65 million next year. The extra money would pay for two additional police officers and 10 administrative and support positions to bring the department staff to 174.

Diamond said the support people would be used to relieve the city's 91 police officers and sergeants of some of the paper INCREASE, F-4

PBUD04 type for BREVARD EXTRA pg F-4 work that detains them after answering a call for assistance.

Under the proposed budget, the department also would receive a third police dog; 10 new patrol cars to replace seven old ones and add three; 10 new and replacement cars for staff; and a van for the SWAT team.

For the fire department, Diamond proposes a 22.6 percent budget increase, from $3.9 million to $4.8 million. About $300,000 of that would be used to pay for construction of a fire station at San Fillipo Boulevard and Wyoming Street. It would be the fourth station in the 65-square-mile city. Another $100,000 would be used to build a fire department training center somewhere in the city.

But the department also would receive four more firefighters, bringing those ranks to 51, and three administrators and support staff positions.